Close · Multi-Unit Restaurants

Indemnification Counsel for Multi-Unit Restaurants Acquisitions

When the deal is multi-unit restaurants and the question is Indemnification, the structure decisions in the first 30 days outlast the next five years. This is where Jason Powell works.

EV range $8M to $80M EV EBITDA $2M to $14M Audience Buy-side / Sponsor
The deal context

Every multi-unit restaurants acquisition has its own gravity. Indemnification is the workstream where independent sponsor counsel earns the seat.

The typical multi-unit restaurants platform sits at $8M to $80M EV with EBITDA in the $2M to $14M range. The thesis runs on franchisee roll-up or regional concept acquisition. The franchisor consent letter is the deal. Get it lined up before you spend money on diligence.

The moves

How Indemnification actually gets structured.

  1. Set general indemnity survival at 18 months, fundamental reps for the full statute of limitations.

  2. Build a basket at 0.5 percent of EV, with a deductible structure, not a tipping basket.

  3. Cap general indemnity at 10 percent of EV, with R&W insurance carrying the layer above.

  4. Carve out fraud, tax, and intentional breach from any cap.

  5. In multi-unit restaurants, layer in franchisor LOI letter requested before market as part of the Indemnification workstream.

The common mistake

Negotiating caps and baskets without first reading the disclosure schedules. The schedules dictate the real exposure.

Jason's take
"Indemnification only matters when the deal goes wrong. Draft it as if it will."
Jason Powell · Indemnification
Capital after close

The deal is one thing. The capital that opens up after close is another.

Most independent sponsors solve the closing capital and then run into the post-close capital problem alone. The capital markets relationships that matter at month 18 are part of this practice.

MONTH 18
Senior refi
MONTH 24
Dividend recap
MONTH 36
Growth equity
YEAR 4–5
Strategic exit
TALK TO JASON

An LOI on the desk, a multi-unit restaurants target, and a Indemnification question worth a real conversation.

Twenty minutes of practitioner-grade input from a securities attorney whose first move is to read the deal, not the engagement letter.